What do you want to do when you grow up? Or are you already there? Me? I’m working on it. Figuring it out. There’s something about turning forty that causes one to take a temperature reading of their life and evaluate all parts of it.
It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was walking through the doors at the Dairy Queen for the first day at my first real job. When I look back on it, I find it incredibly intriguing that even all those years ago, what I loved most was connecting with people. The least? Making malts and blizzards. Messy and frustrating…plus…all I wanted to do was eat them. Duh.
So here I am, 20-some years later, and what do I still love to do most? Connect with people. The avenue in which I do it is different – but the end result is still the same. I feel this connection when I get to build relationships with customers. Or when I share a story while I’m speaking and someone identifies with it. Sometimes, it is when I write something and other people tell me that it made them laugh, it made them think or it made them feel like they weren’t alone.
These are the times I feel most connected to what I was placed on this Earth to do. These are the times that I feel the most fulfilled, happy and content. These are the times when I am filled with the most light and energy.
I’m blessed that my current paying job allows me the opportunity to plug into these talents and energy much of the time. Now the question becomes, how do I create my own destiny in which my work is such that I get to do this ALL of the time? These are the questions I’ve been asking myself lately.
One thing is for certain, sitting back and waiting for it to happen isn’t the answer. This is one of the reasons I set this goal of writing the 40 to 40 series for my blog. I wanted to push myself by creating a stretch goal and I wanted to make time for me and something I love.
So here I am, less than two weeks from turning forty. More than half way through my 40 to 40 series, and I am working on developing my plan for what I want to do when I grow up. I’m not sure that will ever happen (the growing up part), but I’m determined to make the plan happen.
I decided to make a list of the things I’d like to do, make happen, and experience and I call this Aspiration Planning. I named it this, instead of ‘career planning’ because the word career actually depletes my energy. But aspiration? It feels like a combination between a career and a dream. And that makes me giddy.
So what’s on my Aspiration Planning list? Well, I’ve provided the intentionally short list below. It is short because it is different than a bucket list. It isn’t just a list of things I want to do or places to go, but a list of things I aspire to. A list of things I dream of doing. Thus far, my aspiration planning has lead me to the following:
- Publish a book
- Be paid as a professional speaker
- Do radio gigs (we’re not talking Top 40 here, but rather interviews and such)
- Appear at conferences and special events
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